Never giving up is my attitude: Yuvraj Singh

Comeback man Yuvraj Singh, who was recalled to both the One-Day International and Twenty20 International squads to take on England, hopes to make a strong return and "belong" to where he always wanted to be.

With a lot of uncertainty over the finisher's role in the Indian middle-order, the selectors invested in the Punjab all-rounder after a fruitful 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season, where he topped the batting charts for his side with 672 runs despite playing just five games.

Making a fifth comeback to the national side post the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj voiced that belief can do wonders to one.

"I was inspired by Lance Armstrong when I was going through cancer, and (in) coming out of it, I have inspired a lot of people to come out of their own adversity," Yuvraj Singh told BCCI.tv on Monday (January 9).

"It's tough when you go through a period like this in your life when you don't know where your life is going to go. I think you have got to keep working hard and believe that one day you will come back and be at the place you belong. Never giving up is my attitude. Things can always change in a matter of a short time.I have had a lot of ups and downs and I have just learnt to keep bouncing back from it. And hopefully I can come back and belong where I always wanted to be," he added.

With the Indian team raising the bar for fitness levels for players in the team, it can be tough for a 35-year-old to stay in the race, but the left-hander revealed about putting in the extra hours at training to overcome the challenge. "I have been working hard on my fitness because as you grow older, you got to work harder on your body. In the mid thirties, your body asks for a lot of training time, recovery time. I have changed my diet completely and I have been putting extra hours. With what my body went through, I need to be very careful with everything," Yuvraj explained.

"If you see the boys in the Indian team, everybody is training very hard and everyone is physically fit, And being physically fit is a very important part of being mentally strong.

"I think mental strength is something you gain after playing for so many years. You want to be mentally strong at the highest level because it can be physically and mentally demanding, and if your are mentally strong, your body will follow," he added.

Talking about MS Dhoni stepping down as captain of the limited-overs teams, Yuvraj believes that the World Cup-winning captain got the timing right and also hopes to bring back old memories by playing a "fearless" brand of cricket alongside the Ranchi hero.

"He's been an extremely good captain for India. We won the 2011 World Cup, 2007 World T20, (2013) Champions Trophy under him. They are really big achievements. We were the No. 1 Test team under him. These are amazing achievements and I am not sure how many captains have that. And he's been very calm and composed," Yuvraj opened up.

"I think he took a very good decision stepping down. I am sure he must have felt that it's time for the next guy to take over and build the team for the 2019 World Cup. I am sure he saw that in Virat. I am sure he has a lot to contribution as a player to the team at the moment. It's going to be like playing as we were playing in the old days, when we started - obviously I started much before him and then he came. We were both very fearless and hopefully we can do the same this time in the upcoming series," he continued.

Having seen Virat Kohli from close quarters from a young age, Yuvraj was all praise for the 28-year-old and told that consistency was a key element to his success."I have seen him grow up in front of my own eyes as a youngster and always getting better and better. What's special about Virat is he commands performance. He's been very consistent throughout his career and that consistency, that fire has converted into a very good captain. That is what he demands from the team all the time is a 100 percent commitment and that is the hallmark of a good captain," the Arjuna awardee noted.

"I just feel that every year he gets better with his performances. He sets his own goals and tries to get better with every performance every year. In his early years, he was getting consistent runs and then he started scoring a lot of hundreds. This year in Test cricket, he scored a lot of double hundreds. I don't know who else averages more than 50 in all three formats. I think that's a really big achievement for Virat. I hope he continues that and takes India to the next level," he concluded.